Some interesting, if not amusing, boxscore lines are producing the usual amount of premature angst and giddiness that go with the opening strides of the fantasy baseball marathon.

If you’ve been around fantasy baseball long enough, you know not to abandon the guy who went 0-for-6 in his first game — especially if it’s Mike Trout.

OK, you can a take shot at grabbing one of those undrafted players who came up with a monster opening day but don’t do it if you have to drop someone you’d previously selected in the middle to high rounds.

Here is what has caught our eye from the opening three days.

♦ Ranked 23rd in runs scored last season and 25th in homers, the White Sox rapped out six dingers against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday — a facility known to suppress the long ball — including three by Matt Davidson. The outburst was not a total shock. He did hit 26 HRs last year after fantasy owners everywhere had pretty much given up on him as a prospect when he struggled to even get out of triple-A. He’s 4-for-9 with six RBIs and, perhaps equally importantly — even this early in the season — just one strikeout.

♦ The Phillies pulled a bit of a surprise in their first two games, starting switch-hitter Andrew Knapp at catcher over righty Jorge Alfaro, the returning sophomore and former top prospect who was expected to be their No. 1 guy behind the plate this season. The team says the plan is for each of them to start three of the first six games, with Alfaro getting his first start on Saturday. The Phillies also started Aaron Altherr over Odubel Herrera in CF opening day, which hints that, with Nick Williams also in the OF mix, Herrera’s plate appearances could be trending down.

♦ Kevin Pillar stealing second, third and home against the Yankees on Saturday was as eye-popping as it gets. The Blue Jays CF has averaged 18 SBs his first three seasons, but shed some weight in the off-season to make himself “lighter on my feet,” so it could be a sign of bigger things to come, especially with the Jays expected to struggle again for runs. On top of the three early bags, Pillar has gone 1-for-3 each of his first three games and contributed a home run, as well.

♦ Thrust into an opening-day assignment after Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija went on the DL in the spring, lefty Ty Blach and his career 4.43 ERA stepped in and out-duelled Clayton Kershaw in a 1-0 win over the Dodgers. It was workmanlike effort, as he gave up three hits and three walks in five innings, struck out three and got 10 groundball outs. That’s probably enough to warrant a pickup.

♦ Chris Davis batting leadoff for the Orioles? Yes, the power-hitting 1B will take a walk (his OBP is usually 100 points better than his batting average) but at .309 last year, it was still second worst among the team’s starting nine. Still, it’s probably no less bizarre than the Padres having 2B Carlos Asuaje, with practically zero power, batting fifth against righties, sixth against lefties.

♦ Last year’s surprise breakout player, Cards OF Tommy Pham, is 1-for-7 in his first two games against the Mets with five strikeouts. OK, those came mostly against Noah Syndergaard and Jacob de Grom who’ve been known to fan a guy or two, but it still has to be a little unsettling for his owners, particularly in light of the vision problems he has experienced in the past and were supposedly corrected.

♦ Another NLer struggling out of the gate with a new team is Giants 3B Evan Longoria who is 0-for-11 with six groundouts and four Ks.

♦ The last of the prime free agents found a home this week when RP Greg Holland signed with the Cardinals, instantly crushing the closing hopes of both the DL’d Luke Gregerson and his fill-in Dominic Leone.

WAIVER WATCH (With fantasy rating out of 5)

Scott Kingery 2B, Phillies * * We’d been reading about this Dustin Pedroia clone as a potential minor-league stash in our NL only league. Then, not only does he make the team, the Phils sign him to a six-year deal as a super-utility guy. Got two hits in his debut on Frday and looks like a .270-ish batter who’ll contribute a handful of HRs and SBs while eventually qualifying just about everywhere.

Nick Ahmed SS, Diamondbacks * * Even with last year’s injury-shortened mini-breakout, he’s still one of the last shortstops taken, if at all, in fantasy circles. But perhaps his career-high five RBIs on Friday changes that perception. His return to a starting role combined with his 5-for-11 start to the season at worst makes him worth keeping tabs on.

Boog Powell OF, Athletics * * When the A’s announced their opening day lineup, it was something of a shock to see his name in CF and Dustin Fowler back in triple-A. Powell has some decent speed/power potential and, though he is off to a 2-for-10 start, his peripherals suggest he’s got the skillset at the plate to make a reasonable impact.

LINE OF THE WEEK Christian Yelich MIL 5 3 5 2 Brewers’ new LF needed only 13 pitches to rap out a double and four singles against the Padres on Saturday.

INJURY UPDATES

Nelson Cruz sprained his right ankle in Saturday’s game … Ian Desmond was forced out of Saturday’s game in the seventh inning with a sore knee … After starting him on Friday, the Angels decided to place Ian Kinsler on the 10-day DL rather than have him risk aggravating a sore groin … Delino DeShields Jr., broke a hamate bone in his hand on Friday and will be out at least six weeks … Steven Souza (pectoral) could be back by the end of April. That’s a couple of weeks earlier than first thought … Michael Conforto (shoulder) and Johan Camargo (oblique) are hoping to be activated early this week … Greg Bird back on the DL? Who’d have guessed? … Mark Trumbo went on the 10-day DL just prior to opening day with a quad strain … Aaron Hicks strained his intercostal muscle in Thursday’s opener … One of the more durable catchers, Salvador Perez, tore his MCL while carrying some luggage and is out until early May.

This Week's Flyers

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